The Decade in Indie: Takahiro Oba & Takeshi Ono vs. Kengo Mashimo & Manabu Suruga (FUTEN 5/30/10)

**This was originally posted on Wrestling With Words. I lost the “Beating the 10 Count” part so I invented a new one**

Pre-Match Thoughts: Gonna be honest, this one comes via the Google search “best japanese pro wrestling matches of 2017 purotopia”. Calling Kengo Mashimo the most mainstream guy of the bunch feels yucky though he still has a role on the scene and works All Japan. It is FUTEN so if it ain’t stiff then it is a disappointment.

Match Thoughts: Confirmed not to be a disappointment. I don’t need wrestling to be insanely stiff but I won’t sit here in my lovely computer chair pretending I want all wrestling to be insanely stiff. The opening matwork is fun. Even if it doesn’t set much of anything up you get Oba using it to show charisma. He gives you that change of base guy. Instead of delivering near uncomfortable levels of violence you find Oba patrolling the ring with his head cocked as if someone told him he is the baddest man on the planet and he is super into the idea. From the jump he tells Mashimo to bring it on ala The Rock. Not a tremendous idea mind you but I do appreciate the guts. The stupid, stupid guts.

The structure of the bout revs me up. Quick opening segment leads way for the team of Mashimo and Sugura take a large chunk of the match laying it in on their opponents. Oba and Ono take the beating like champs occasionally get frisky and trying to change the momentum of the bout. Don’t try to do that against Mashimo. The brother will chuck brothers into other brothers. Also, he kicks oh so very hard. There is a moment where Mashimo corners Oba, hitting a nasty flurry with a headkick. Oba tries to make a comeback though so Mashimo smacks his arms with kicks that sound like gunshots. Oba hits a DVD. Not realizing he is just making Mashimo angry he soon gets met with an absolutely bonkers kick to the head. Then Suruga comes in and lays waste to Oba. This time though the comeback pays off by countering a kick into a powerbomb leading us to the third act. From here on out the match is strictly Ono and Suruga with Oba and Mashimo flying around the outside occasionally interject themselves while clearly not being a focus.The focal points make it feel like a war; the accessories make it feel like a warzone. Ono works the gimmick of a man that always has a punchers chance so darn well. Out there like a Diaz brother, throwing punches in bunches, each one coming off a tad harder than the last. Two incredibly tough men going toe-to-toe, going down hard, getting up out of pride, and trying to take the other man’s head home as a prize. One could argue it goes on a hair too long but I have never been one to deny myself of.

Beating the 10 Count:  Stiffness met with the structure of the Gods.

DECADE IN INDIE:

1. Takahiro Oba & Takeshi Ono vs. Kengo Mashimo & Manabu Suruga (FUTEN 5/30/10)
2. Chris Escobar vs Damien Wayne (VCW 6/2/12)
3. Team Beyond vs. Team InterSpecies Wrestling (Beyond 5/7/10)
4. Bandido Jr. vs. B-Boy (JAPW 1/23/10)
5. Tommy Dreamer vs. Jerry Lawler (NWA ME 3/17/12)
6. Team BDK vs. Team CHIKARA (1/31/10)
7. Sami Callihan vs. Kyle O’Reilly (IPW 1/1/11)
8. Aeroform vs. Jollyville F**k-Its (Beyond 11/5/10)
9. JT Dunn vs. Hallowicked (WrestleJam 9/7/13)